Senate Appropriations Committee Passes $119.7B FY 2009 Military Construction-VA Spending Bill

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted 29-0 to approve a $119.7 billion fiscal year 2009 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, CongressDaily reports (Kreisher, CongressDaily, 7/18). The bill would provide $1 billion more in total spending than a version of the legislation passed on June 24 by the House Appropriations Committee and $28.5 billion more than President Bush requested (Johnson, CQ Today, 7/17).

The Senate legislation includes $72.7 billion in discretionary spending, $3.65 billion more than Bush requested. Under the bill, VA would receive $48 billion in discretionary spending, which includes $41.1 billion for health care programs (CongressDaily, 7/18). The legislation would provide:

• $1.2 billion for major VA construction projects, about $636 million more than Bush requested;
  
  
• $1.1 billion for VA facility maintenance and repair projects, about $300 million more than Bush requested;
  
  
• $526.8 million to increase the budget for medical and prosthetic research, $84 million more than Bush requested;
  
  
• $350 million to increase the income eligibility threshold for veterans to receive care at VA facilities; and
  
  
• $250 million to fund a program to extend access to care for veterans in rural areas do not live near VA facilities (CQ Today, 7/17).